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[personal profile] birdwatcher
What is significant about Friday's repurchase agreements is not so much their size, but the securities that the Fed exchanged for money: mortgage-backed securities (MBS). Indeed, the entire $38 billion dollar injection went to MBS purchases, the largest open market purchase of this asset type ever conducted by the Fed.

Date: 2007-08-16 01:34 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] capka3m.livejournal.com
> The Federal Reserve's income is derived primarily from the interest on U.S. government securities that it has acquired through open market operations. Other sources of income are the interest on foreign currency investments held by the System; fees received for services provided to depository institutions, such as check clearing, funds transfers, and automated clearinghouse operations; and interest on loans to depository institutions (the rate on which is the so-called discount rate). After paying its expenses, the Federal Reserve turns the rest of its earnings over to the U.S. Treasury.

Wow. So, looks like it is funded by the tax levied on all the US$ holders... It prints dollars and derives interest from investing the little extra it printed for itself. Nice racket :)

Date: 2007-08-16 02:04 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] birdwatcher.livejournal.com
Именно.